Abstract
Animals can organize their behavior with respect to other moving animals or objects; when hunting or escaping a predator, when migrating in groups or during various social interactions. In rats, we aimed to characterize spatial behaviors relative to moving objects and to explore the cognitive mechanisms controlling these behaviors. Three groups of animals were trained to avoid a mild foot-shock delivered in one of three positions: either in front, on the left side, or on the right side of a moving robot. We showed the rats can recognize and avoid these specific areas. The avoidance behavior specific for the left or right side of the robot demonstrated animals not only react to “simple” stimuli such as increasing noise level or growing retinal image of an approaching object, but they process their spatial position relative to the object. Using an all-white robot without prominent visual patterns that would distinguish its different sides, we showed that the behavior does not depend on responses to prominent visual patterns, but that the rats can guide their navigation according to geometrical spatial relationship relative to the moving object. Rats’ competence for navigation in space defined by a moving object resembles navigation abilities in stationary space. Recording of hippocampal single unit activity during rat’s interaction with the robot proved feasibility of the task to uncover neuronal mechanism of this type of navigation.
Highlights
Navigation relative to other moving animals or objects is a cognitive ability that is important for animals in many ethologically relevant situations
The number of shock zone entrances decreased to 2.5 ± 0.8, while the number of entrances to the safe zones remained at 5.8 ± 0.9 in two post-criterion sessions with the fast-moving all-white robot (Figure 3D)
In a new behavioral paradigm, we showed that animals can recognize specific spatial positions that is not marked directly, but is defined by its spatial relationship in reference to a distal moving robot
Summary
Navigation relative to other moving animals or objects is a cognitive ability that is important for animals in many ethologically relevant situations. Avoiding a predator, pursuing prey, moving within a migrating group, or collaborating within a hunting pack are among the many situations where orienting relative to moving animals is crucial. Clearly important for animals’ success and survival, little is known about the cognitive and neuronal mechanisms controlling this type of behavior and laboratory methods to study this type of spatial behavior are needed. It is not merely the distance from other moving animals or objects, but the precise position relative to them that determines successful navigation. We have developed a novel qualitatively advanced version of a spatial
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